Eulogy: Child Of Blood
by A Memory Of Wings
Summary: Miyohiko...the demon princess who wants revenge on Goku for the death of her father. Menary Brailford...a western earl's daughter who betrays the Sanzo group for a secret item. Now these captivating but maddening women have been linked to the journey west
1. Entangling Alliances

**Prologue  
**_Entangling Alliances_

"You think I can be blackmailed so easily?"

The dust that stirred up from the barren plain caught on the edges of a torn, violet cape, turning the hem brown. Dust coated the demon lord's hair turning it's natural black a shade of brown like the bark of the oak trees that hadn't grown on the country side of Mah Laou for nearly three decades. His eyes were riveted on the demon before him, his opponents hair like ash and his face creased with a rotting smile though scars carved deep rivers in the planes of his cheeks and jaw.

"You have no other choice. Do you think you will be shown mercy when you choose to ally yourself with demons?"

The lord bristled, dark hair flaring about his face with a cloud of sand like steam around his features. "There are no longer human in Mah Laou. We keep our distance from each other and those who cross our borders know their lives are forfeit."

"And yet…" the ash haired demon's tone was mocking, striped with condescending respect. "your own daughter has mortal blood running in her veins. Not only that but you've recognized her as your heir."

Ivory teeth clenched in a growl of rising rage. "You dare insult my daughter?"

"Not at all. I've heard she's quite gifted…for a half breed. My question is, that faced with the proof of your obvious mortal sympathies do you really believe that Prince will accept your word of loyalty without proof."

"I recognize Lord Kougaji's rank among the demon nation. But I am not one of his lackeys to be moved about like a piece on a chess board."

"How unfortunate. Tell me, do you think Mah Laou can stand against an attack by the entire demon population?" Light flashed off the massive blade of his sword, arching into a gleaming ray that formed a line between himself and the dark haired demon lord. "Can your daughter?"

And intense moment of silence followed, one charged with challenge where the two demons pitted will and resisted against each other. It was a futile battle—one had nothing to loose and the other everything. The desert wind rustled scarce foliage and in the distance was the symphony of military sounds and unified devotion. Into this backdrop of prophetic eulogy the demon lord's voice was a clap of thunder.

"What do you want from me?"

"Destroy the Sanzo party."


	2. At The Glass Slipper

**Chapter One  
**_At The Glass Slipper_

The time was nearing eight post meridian. A paltry hour. Smoke rose from the neon tip of a cigarette in intricate silver swirls that created almost tribal like designs, merging with the tiny silver clouds that colored the air, supplied by the contents of a white porcelain tea pot, whose intricate pattern of blunt swirls and punctuated lines betrayed it to be of western make. If not for the whirling of a small motor fan and the blocking of the heat by the locked windows the combined temperature of the desert inferno and fire keeping the kettle hot would have been unbearable.

In Gojyo's opinion anyone who insisted on making tea when it was over eighty degrees outside was not completely mentally stable. Like Sanzo, who he believed would drink tea if he were confined to the pits of hell…or seated across from the devil as he was now. The foreign woman may not have looked it but she was possible as close to a demon as a human could get.

Sleight of form with a height that barely surpassed Goku's, her blonde hair was twisted up into an elegant knot at the nape of her neck. Usually Gojyo preferred his women with their locks hanging in a rampant torrent all around their face, the after sex look, but the style left the pale line of her throat chest to clearer view, accented the oval shape of her face and petite characteristics of her face. She wasn't beautiful, he'd seen lovelier women, but her features were exotic, engaging, and her eyes like polished pewter were striking. At the moment she had them fixed on the tea cup she was pouring for the foul mouthed monk, who wore an impatient scowl that marked the borderline of his tolerance and ability to maintain an "indoor voice".

"So, let me get this straight." His gruff voice was grating among the melodious sounds of boiling water and china clinking together. "Goku's been kidnapped by a princess?"

"A demon princess." Hakkai's voice was its same gentle salve to Sanzo's tone as always.

His face a mask of serene disposition and patience where he sat surrounded by the voluminous cushions of the inn's couch. Gojyo stood nearby, leaned against the sitting room's door to prevent entry or, though it seemed to be little needed, exit in the case of the golden haired female. She seemed little worried about her forced visitor's however, seated comfortable at a coffee table across from Sanzo in a companionable fashion. In fact Menary Brailford didn't seem the slightest bit shaken by the turn of events and her stoic, cool attentiveness was radically different from the lively chamber maid who had offered them solstice at The Glass Slipper Inn only to betray them in the night.

"Indeed. I don't think she wants your friend for the purpose of rescuing her from a tower. Miyohiko isn't really the romantic sort, which is an awfully regretful state for a girl her age. Not that I've ever met her personally but one hears a great number of stories about the Cursed."

"The Cursed?" Hakkai's voice a lesson in polite inquiry.

"Hmm? Oh, my. Well, nothing." Her gaze flickered in Gojyo direction momentarily, pale gray depths consuming him before fluttering back to the tea pot. "They say that since she took control there have been two things on her mind. Revenge and your young friend with the large appetite." She tapped a silver spoon against the sugar bowl with a warm smile. "Did he really like the rice balls as much as he suggested? They don't have them in England."

"You're jumping the tracks here." Sanzo's voice was the slice of an arrow through her cordial banter. The arms he folded within the sleeves of his robe gave his body a relaxed looking stance but Gojyo and Hakkai knew he was anything but. "Who the hell is this Miyohiko woman and what, exactly, does she have control of."

Menary's coral lips parted in a small sigh and she regarded them like a long suffering mother would. "I am really going to have to go into detail aren't I?"

The sound of Sanzo's teeth grinding was almost audible. "It would be appreciated." Sarcasm like venom in his tones.

"Very well. Mah Laou is a demon territory about eight miles east of here. It spans from the Taimou River to the Raichi. For a time humans also made their homes in those lands, however after the estrangement with demons they were pushed off and Mah Laou was brought under the rule of a demon clan and it's Chief. Since then humans have been banned from Mah Laou altogether. Those who venture there are signing their death but as long as mortals do not cross it's boundaries they are spared the wrath of the demon clan."

Hakkai's posture had straightened and here he leaned forward, eyes gleaming with characteristic interest. "So the demons have a sort of alliance with the human villages near here. As long as they stay on the other side of the Taimou the demons will leave them in peace."

Gojyo was unimpressed. "So, who's this Miyohiko?"

"Miyohiko is the demon lord's daughter. She was born ten years before the establishment of Mah Laou as a purely demonic territory. Since her father's death recently she has taken over ruler ship of Mah Laou and the demon clan."

"Well, damn."

"So if demons and humans are so content to stay out of each other's way here why do you serve this princess?" Sanzo's question was a quick, blunt string of words.

Insult parted the blonde woman's lips and turned her eyes to silver cinders. "You are quite mistaken. I have no ties of loyalty to Mah Laou or its government officials."

"Oh, yeah? Then explain why you to lure us to your inn, offer us individual rooms and a meal free of charge, then lace all our drinks with sleeping powder so that our friend could be carried off in the night. I'd be real appreciative to know what kind of affiliation you have with this Miyohiko, lady." Sanzo's voice had risen through the course of his speech and he had risen to his feet, hands on either corner of the porcelain ladled coffee table as if he meant to upend it.

"Purely professional. I was contacted by her advisor, Tsai Soe. Quite a charming individual, for a demon in these times. He made me an offer I could not refuse. Naturally I felt guilty about deceiving unsuspecting travelers but it was a most important commercial exchange."

Her attempt at civil exchange and serene disaffection seemed only to prove more fuel to the flames of Sanzo's distemper. She'd shown similar lack of surprise or disturbance when they'd cornered her in the inn's parlor and demanded to know what she had done with Goku. Her poise remained similarly unshaken through Sanzo's threats, Gojyo's accusations, and Hakkai's questions.

In short the western woman was downright maddening.

"What precisely did you receive in this bargain?"

Her stare became quite frank and she regarded him with barely contained disapproval. "It is not really something that I feel the need, nor desire, to share."

"Listen lady-" Sanzo started in rising tones.

"Would you like cream in your tea, Master Sanzo?"

His expression was affected. "No."

"Ah. Master Hakkai?"

"No, thank you. Just sugar, if you wouldn't mind. And please, Hakkai is fine."

"How nice." She dropped two cubes of sugar into one of the miniscule porcelain cups and offered it handle out on a saucer.

"Dude…" Gojyo eyed the accepted cup with unveiled suspicion. "You're gonna drink something she gave you after what happened last time?"

Sanzo growled in annoyance. "I want to know what this Miyohiko plans on doing with Goku."

"I could not tell you for sure. If you are asking me to guess I would say summary execution."

Hakkai fanned his tea to cool it. "Oh dear. Sword or silken rope?"

"The way it sounded, I would think the princess had something like a firing squad in mind." Her regard swept the trio of them and her eyebrow lifted with direct warning. "Suitable for mass execution."


	3. Details of Plans Past

**Chapter Two  
**_Details of Plans Past_

A beat of silence followed her words, during which the trio exchanged brief looks of speculation. Finally Sanzo snapped eyes like cut amethyst back to Menary's face, watching her lift her own teacup to her lips, sipping silently from the brim.

"So we got that she wants Goku's head on a stick. Why?"

For the first time surprise colored her features, and her mouth curved into a little frown, a line of confusion creasing her pale brow. "You do not know?"

"We've never heard the name Miyohiko before." Hakkai answered before Sanzo could respond with another quip. "Nor have we ever been to Mah Laou before. So it's hard to image why this princess would have a vendetta against any of us."

"Oh, my." She lowered the tea cup to the saucer again gravely. "I had best give you the complete version of this last week's events then, hadn't I? You traveled this way from the Hsien forest, correct?"

"We did."

"On your way you encountered a demon with hair like shadows and eyes like burning embers, am I right?" She waited for the confirmation of a halting nod. "His name was Torak, called the Unconquered Sun by the demon clan of Mah Laou, the clans he ruled."

Comprehension lightened Hakkai's features. "This demon was Princess Miyohiko's father."

"Indeed. During the battle it was your friend Goku who slayed him, turning his body to ash. This news was carried to Mah Laou by Torak's personal guard. Two days later, Miyohiko was crowned as head of the demon clan. An impressive ceremony, I was told at the conclusion of which she swore to kill the one responsible for her father's death with her own hand. The demon clans were rather reluctant to accept her as a ruler but this was apparently met with a standing ovation. Very stirring."

"You can skip the after party review."

Menary fixed him with a disapproving stare, one they held mutually in choking silence till finally the monk made a sound of annoyance and lifted his teacup.

"As I was saying; afterwards, Miyohiko named Tsai Soe her advisor on the condition that he find a way to capture the one who had slain her father, namely the young master Goku. However your reputation preceded you and Tsai Soe did not want to engage in an all out fight with the four of you. So instead he came to me. The Glass Slipper is the last inn before you reach Mah Laou and he had no doubt that you would stop for a brief time before continuing on. The night after Miyohiko's coronation he approached me near the river. We stuck a deal; I would be given what I wanted and in return I would offer you the Slipper best hospitality, free of charge. I was to slip the sleeping powder he had given me into your drinks, so that not even an elephant plowing into the inn would wake you. Then I would look the other way while he had your friend taken away to The Summer Palace while you slept."

"And you didn't think it was at all odd that after refusing to interact with humans for so long, this one was willing to strike a deal?" Sanzo questioned.

"Not at all. The culture of the Mah Laou demon clan is different, I would assume, than those further to the east."

Sanzo's regard became contemplative. "I see. And you're an expert on this culture."

Menary's teeth flashed in a modest smile. "Certainly not an expert. But I do enjoy studying western demonology. To the Mah Laou clan, revenge is more important than feuds, prejudice, or tradition. That is one of the reason many of the clan were more willing to accept Miyohiko after her proclamation about her intention to seek vengeance."

"So you knew that the demon we'd killed was the former leader of the demon clan, even before we arrived at the inn." Gojyo spoke after a long span of silence.

"I did. When you arrived I did as Tsai Soe had asked, playing the amicable hostess—quite well I think—and by midnight a host from the Summer Palace had come to take your friend off."

"So, if you knew we were killers weren't you afraid that we'd kill you as well once we found out you were involved."

"The thought crossed my mind."

Hakkai smiled with sheepish confusion. "If you don't mind my asking, if you believed that then why didn't you leave?"

"And go where? If it was true that you all are quite as strong as it has been suggested then was there really anywhere I could run to? Quite frankly if I was going to die I would much rather do so comfortably in familiar surroundings."

Sanzo had emptied the porcelain tea cup and unconsciously thrust it out, allowing Menary to pour him a second one. Even with this physical exchange his voice had lost none of its clipped attributes.

"And whatever Tsai Soe gave you was worth dying over?"

Menary's eyes closed momentarily and then opened again with slow conviction. "Yes. Completely."

A beat of silence followed and then Hakkai smiled warmly into the awkward quiet.

"Well then, it's a good thing we don't make a habit of slaying women."

"Speak for yourself, Hakkai." Gojyo smirked roguishly. "I'm a certified lady killer."

"They die of boredom." Sanzo snapped.

"I can not say I agree." Menary eyed the half demon thoughtfully. "He is nothing if not interesting."

"What did I tell you?" Gojyo bragged.

"His manners leave something to be desired though. And there is the fact that he dresses like a homeless person."

Hakkai choked on a laugh and Gojyo shot him a cool a glare then lit up another cigarette in aggravation.

"This chick pisses me off."


	4. We Regret Prince Charlie

**Chapter Three**  
_We Regret Prince Charlie_

"I've noticed that you're not native to this area."

Menary tore her amused regard away from Gojyo's irate profile and turned her attention to Hakkai politely as he spoke. He pale eyes gleamed with expectant humor.

"Is there a question attached to that?"

"He wants to know how it is you speak our language so fluently." Sanzo spoke with more patience then he'd shown since waking up that morning. "And what you're doing all the way out here."

"I see. Well the answer to that is simple in essence. Bonnie Prince Charlie." She enjoyed the long moment of baffled silence that followed then confided. "Once upon a time, we English mustered the common sense to resist putting Bonnie Prince Charlie on the throne. A triumph of logic, but at what cost? We have been sensible ever since." Gojyo attempted to speak but Menary beamed and fluttered her hand to silence him. "I will be honest. We regret Bonnie Prince Charlie. We regret him immensely. And we wish to expiate our common sense. So we look for problems and way to solve them. Putting our hand into issues in obscure corners of the world has become a sort of English sport. So when the problems with the demons arose the lords templar positively jumped at the opportunity to see who could rush to bandage that particular wound first."

"What the hell does that have to do with you?" Gojyo risked the implication of her quieting gesture to ask.

"My father is Lord Brailford, a minor earl. Once he realized the game was on he sent a letter to me. I was enrolled in Glasscastle Academy in India at the time and he had me removed from the institution in order to be his piece for this particular adventure. It was extremely off-putting but at the time I was quite willing to sacrifice my studies for an expense paid trip about the countryside."

"Why you?" This time it was Hakkai who interjected.

"One reason is because I was the nearest to the area. Another, the deciding reason in fact, was Glasscastle's curriculum."

"It's curriculum?"

"Yes."

Gojyo made a sound of disgust, simultaneously sending a cloud of silvered smoke up into the air. "What do the teachings of some expensive school have to do with your father sending you to solve the problems of foreign demons? Talk about bad parenting."

"Granted, Glasscastle does follow the mandatory classes of traditional finishing schools, however they course load also includes…more unorthodox teachings. Ones that deal less with academic or social progression and more with…ethereal qualities."

Hakkai was the first to catch on, dark eyes illuminating with understanding. "You mean magic?"

Menary winced, the slightest lowering of pale lashes into a briefly pained expression. "Yes, I suppose. It really is not the sort of thing that one uses in polite conversation where I am from. It is down there with the topics of affairs or murder. You know it goes on or even that those you know might engage in it but you do not really speak about it unless the other person dabbles as well, and even then it is limited. I am sure it may be different here but one finds it hard to release old habits."

"I've heard about western magic but I've never seen anyone use it. According to what I've read it sounds a lot different from ki-spells."

"Ki-spells?" A fine gold eyebrow rose in curiosity.

"Ki is a sort of spiritual energy. Ki spells focus that energy into different mediums and purposes."

"Ah!" Menary's lips broke into a smile of captivated interest. "Like Madame Avarill's aura projection."

"There's a possibility that they're closely linked."

"How spectacular. I certainly do wish we had the chance to compare."

"Well then, it looks like today's your lucky day." Sanzo spoke.

Menary turned her head back towards the monk sitting across the table from her, snapped from her recollection of school days.

"I am not sure I caught your meaning, Master Sanzo."

"You know more about this Mah Laou demon clan then we do. And I'm also going to assume you're familiar with this Summer Palace were Miyohiko lives, am I right?"

Pewter eyes had turned wary. "You are."

"Then it seems we'll be taking you with us into Mah Laou."

"What?" "Sanzo!" "I bed your pardon?" This chorusing trio all striking similar looks of appalled shock.

"Sanzo, are you sure that's a good idea?" Hakkai's voice seeped in concern. "From what we've learned the Mah Laou demons become very hostile towards outsiders, particularly humans. We're taking a big risk bringing her into such a dangerous environment."

"We don't have a choice. I don't know about you but taking on an entire demon clan is a bit much. If she can help us get in and out with minimal confrontation then we've got no choice but to bring her along."

"This is a crappy ambassador job we're giving her." Gojyo commented distastefully.

"Sanzo's right, I suppose. But I don't like it." Hakkai was regarding Menary with undisguised sympathy.

The blonde woman's eyes had turned to ice. "Let me ease your conscience. I have no intention of going into Mah Laou, entreat me as you may."

"You've obviously misunderstood." The similarly sunburst colored monk retorted with some measure of humor. "We're not asking you. We're telling you. Since you had a hand in creating this problem in the first place I can't really muster any sympathy for your position. You're going."

"How do you intend to ensure that? You would not dare lay hands on my person."

Gojyo eyed her then chuckled. "Don't bet on it."

"You'll come." Sanzo went on, ignoring Gojyo. "Or we're evacuating this inn and then burn it to the ground."

Menary's eyes widened in disbelief. "You wouldn't!" A brief survey of their sober expressions proved her words false. "Why, I have never-"

"Spare me the outrage."

"We're really very sorry about this." Hakkai soothed.

"Oh, my". She frowned at them grimly. "I do believe I'm being kidnapped."


	5. Study on Maintenance

**Chapter Four**  
_Study in Maintenance_

The heat of the late morning sun all but cooked the sand making it like a hotplate beneath the foot. The long stretch of desert that stretched beyond the limits of the small town like an ocean was an unappealing image, particular when it was your intended destination. Aside from the rolling golden dunes there was nothing out there but the occasional arms of a dark green cactus curved towards the sky, or a weed that clung to the coolness of a rare boulder. The town's people, who had been blissfully unaware of the demonic visitors who had come in the night, strolled through the streets with oblivious normalcy though they cast the visitors the same suspicious looks they had the night before.

Sanzo and Hakkai sat in seemingly serene patience inside the jeep while Gojyo leaned against the tire, nursing the last of a burning cigarette.

"Damn it. We've been waiting here for two hours. How long does it take one woman to pack?"

"We're demanding a lot of her." Hakkai reasoned. "She runs this inn all on her own and there are guests currently in residence. She can't just leave everything unattended."

"Hunh." Gojyo muttered, watching the outside of The Glass Slipper. "Maybe she should have had them carried of into the night as well."

Hakkai's laugh was soft as always. "Gojyo. And here I thought you wouldn't be troubled by Goku's absence."

The half demon's annoyance was apparent in his answering scowl. "Don't get it twisted. I think some time without the brat is my idea of heaven. But that doesn't mean I want him to get dissected by some princess with a vendetta."

"The demon we killed was powerful." Hakkai reminisced with a grave frown. "If his daughter has as much strength then it might be a problem. Particularly with an entire demon clan behind her."

"He's just going to have to hold his own." Sanzo snapped shortly. "At least until we get there."

"I am dreadful sorry again, Mio. I know this is a lot to ask of you." Three pairs of eyes snapped towards the inn's door as the golden haired woman appeared in its frame.

Menary's gown had been traded for a wine ride riding habit with a ribboned corset and sleeves that ended just past her elbows in spray of white lace. Her golden curls were arranged beneath a red, wide brimmed hat with white plumes that brought her to a solid height of 5'3. Delicate slippers had been exchanged for white boots. A silver chain was strung around her waist and a purse hung upon the links, resting against one hip and she had a small valise set down next to her ankle. Her hands clasped those of a petite girl who looked sixteen at the oldest.

"Not at all!" The girl beamed brilliantly. "Cleaning the kitchens gets done so fast and I'm always bored afterwards. And I've seen you at it so many times taking care of the Slipper for a few days should be fine."

"You are smashing." Menary glowed, causing the girl to flush to the roots of her hair with pleasure. "Positively and utterly smashing."

There was a grating sound and the two women were forced to move aside as large, ginger haired man brought a pair of suitcases from inside the inn out into the heat of the sun.

"Where do you want these Menary?"

"Just leave them there." The blonde woman released the girl's hands to step down the three little steps onto the road. "You can bring the others out and stack them here as well."

"What the hell is this?" Gojyo had straightened and was staring at the baggage, appalled, as the brawny man disappeared through the doorframe again.

Menary regarded him as if he had suddenly started raving. "It is called luggage Master Gojyo. It is what you put personal items in when being transported from one place to another."

"And why the hell do you two bags of personal items to be transported." He asked in low, even tones.

"I do not." The man appeared again as she spoke, carrying two more bags and setting them with the first pair then disappeared inside again. "I have six."

"You're not bringing them." Sanzo said in a tone that was meant to end all argument. The Englishwoman was not to be deferred.

"I most certainly am or I shan't be going at all!"

Sanzo rose from the jeep then to level the full force of his amethyst glare on her. "You're going even if I have to make you do it at gunpoint."

"Miss Menary!" The girl, Mio, gasped in frightened shock.

Menary, as ever, was unimpressed. Her small hands went to her hips and she matched Sanzo's glare with her own. "You listen to me. It is a two day ride from here to Mah Laou. That makes four days to get there and back; five if we have to linger long at the Summer Palace. I'm sure you're not aware of the requirements that females have when it comes to personal hygiene, appearance, and basic requirements so I shall educate you. We get dirty in atrocious places and we hate it. Thus the requirements for little things like soaps or perfumes. We also have the small task of maintaining our hair, thus the requirement for hairbrushes and creams. There's also the matter of us disliking being forced to wear the same clothes each day and each night and there in lies the need for different pieces of apparel, particular undergarments. Now if you force me too, I will go into further detail about the myriad of undergarments and sanitary products that I require. It will be horribly vulgar and mortify me to the point of devastation but if you continue this stubborn position then it will become a mandatory discussion."

During her speech Hakkai and Gojyo had begun to look painfully uncomfortably, however Sanzo maintained his stony faces nonchalance. The only sound was that of the brawny man setting the last two of her bags in the sand before the monk made a sound of annoyance into the following silence.

"Damnit. Do we have enough room?"

"I'm sure I can see if Hakuryu can expand the trunk space enough to accommodate. Hakuryu?"

The jeep made a mewling sound and flashed its headlights. As Menary watched in curious fascination Hakkai and Sanzo climbed from the jeep. The entire vehicle started to glow and shrink, morphing back into the tiny silvered dragon it wall. Hakuryu beat his wings against the air for a moment and then his scales turned luminescent as he started to shift again. Be the completion of his change he seemed almost identical to the green jeep he'd been before, however the back had extended into an enclosed compartment.

"How spectacular." Menary praised, crossing the distance to lay a hand on Hakuryu's front hood, her smile brilliant. "You're a first class dragon Master Hakuryu." The jeep mewed again and the headlights almost seemed to turn a shade of pink.

"Oh, crap." Gojyo muttered, watching the exchange.

"Miss Menary…" The young girl started, frightfully. "are you sure these strangers—"

"Never fear, Mio." The woman turned around to offer her a reassuring smile. "These men are perfect gentlemen" as if she hadn't, only moments ago, berated them quite openly "and shall take quite good care of my person until I return. You just make sure Taian keeps an eye on you. If there's any trouble with any guests you fetch him immediately."

"I understand."

"Wonderful. Well then Master Sanzo, Master Gojyo, Hakkai. Shall we be off?"

She supervised the loading of her baggage into the trunk of the car, made them wait as she did a final inspection of the inn, before finally resigning herself to departure. She was settled in back with Gojyo, her valise slid beneath the seat and her striking eyes remained fixed on the shrinking sight of the Glass Slipper until it was no longer discernable from the other buildings of the town.


	6. Into The Wasteland

**Chapter Five**  
_Into The Wasteland_

"Aren't you hot in all that clothing?"

Menary turned her head enough that she could fix Gojyo with an arch look. She had been quiet since the town had vanished from view, swallowed the desert scenery and the blue sky. Now her tongue flickered over dry lips, and her chin was set atop fingers folded into a fist.

"Are you hitting on me again, Master Gojyo?" Referring to the evening before her actions had been discovered, when Gojyo had made the same passes at her as he did every other pretty female they encountered.

Hakkai's spoke as Gojyo's voice became a strangled choke. "What he means to say, is that he doesn't understand how you can be comfortable in so many layers of clothing when the heat has surpassed eighty degrees."

"I see." Menary's mouth quirked. "My wardrobe is special. It has been created specifically with special attributes to condition this sort of climate."

"It's spelled." Sanzo murmured, as if he'd known.

"It is specially made." She reiterated with emphasized patience. "I commissioned it with a Glasscastle seamstress before I left India. Charming woman and exceptionally talented. You might notice the tiny maroon rose on the inside of the cuff. Her trademark, hand stitched and quite expertly so."

"Speaking of Glasscastle." Hakkai went on. "I was wondering why you agreed to come with us if you were so against it."

She stared at the back of his head incredulously. "Why? Because you all threatened to burn down my inn, is why!"

"Well, yes…" Hakkai's smile was at once apologetic and sheepish. "But couldn't you have prevented that?"

"Ah, I see. Well the thing is, I do not _do _that sort of thing."

"What do you mean, you don't do it?" Gojyo found his voice again. "I thought this academy taught magic. Did you learn it or not?"

Menary frowned at him. "It did and I did. But manipulation of the greater elements was not among such teachings. Your idea of being tutored in such abilities is far different then how it actually is in Glasscastle. We are not placed in a classroom and demonstrated to sporadically."

"Then how is it taught?"

"Until fourth year instruction proceeds as normally it would at any other finishing school. Then at the beginning of the second semester of the fifth a night is assigned during which the chosen student is to go on a vigil."

"A vigil?" Hakkai's voice was rapt with curiosity.

"Glasscastle has rather expansive grounds. The chosen student selects a spot upon which to wait."

"For what?"

"For anything."

Gojyo and Hakkai acquired twin looks of baffled confusion which they exchanged with each other for a brief moment. Hakkai turned his eyes to Menary again with a small frown.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"It is a big like a trigger. There are certain things that power is directly attuned to. Humans, however, rarely place themselves in positions to receive the properties of this alignment. The vigil is for the purpose of a grand awakening and it is meant to be brought on by one of these attuned aspects; an animal, a thing, that one witnesses and is clarified with during the vigil. What the individual sees during their vigil determines the elements of their…special skills."

"Shit, this is giving me a headache." Gojyo complained.

"So don't they teach you after your vigil?" Hakkai continued his questioning.

"In a way. Everyone sees something different on their vigil so it is impossible to have a set lesson that will teach everyone properly. So instead only the most basic structural details are given along with clues and nudges in the right direction in the form of philosophy classes. Then the student is to progress on their own using these tools." She smiled in fond memory. "I could not tell you how atrociously frustrating classes were before my vigil. My dear friend Aurian had hers before mine and she'd always walked around as if she knew something I did not and after that I knew she knew something that I did not and she knew I knew she knew and it was positively maddening."

"I know the feeling." Gojyo jibbed.

"What did you see on your vigil?"

Menary straightened and she looked as if Hakkai had asked her for her dress size. Her lips had turned into a serious frown and her eyes were steel. "That isn't something that one shares. To know what a person saw on their vigil is to have control of their power, control of their abilities, control of them."

The brown haired man looked stricken. "I apologize."

She managed a smile. "Not at all. I know you were not aware of what you were asking."

"So what is it you know about Princess Miyohiko?" Sanzo spoke for the first time since the town had faded from the horizon.

"Aside from what I have told you? Little. The demon clan refers to her as The Cursed. She was her father's only child and it is said that her mother died birthing her. I have heard that she is horribly spoiled, has an affecting voice, a temper like a tea kettle, and a violent inclination to match it."

"Well that's just great." Gojyo said. "How come all the women we come across are either crazy or taken?"

"I suggest you keep those sorts of questions to yourself." Hakkai advised, taking not of the level look that Menary had fixed Gojyo with.

"Not at all." The blonde woman said in a voice that was deceptively light. "I am quite interested in his opinion on the matter. Which would you say I am, Master Gojyo? Taken, crazy, or just not a woman?"

"I fold." The half demon answered.

"A point for me, then."

"Why do they call Miyohiko cursed?" Sanzo spoke again.

Menary ripped her gaze from Gojyo and looked towards Sanzo again. She shook her head making blonde ringlets dance. "Perhaps because of her mother's death? Or for her temper?"

"From what you know, do you think he's done anything to Goku yet?" Hakkai asked evenly.

Menary's eyes were frank and she spoke with grave candor. "You mean, do I think she has ordered him killed yet. I heavily doubt it."

"Why?"

"From what I have heard about how close she was with her father I do not have the slightest doubt that she will want to make his killer suffer for as long as possible. Your friend may not be fine, but I am quite sure he's still alive."


	7. Implications of Things Coming

**Chapter Six  
**_Implications of Things Coming_

The sun had set and still the horizon yielded nothing to view but bare sand. A chill spilled over the desert as quickly as shadow and had Gojyo and Hakkai tinkering with the knobs of the car's heater. Sanzo was impassive as ever and Menary seemed just as comfortable with the cold in her enchanted attire as she had with the sweltering heat. The moon was a full white orb, crowned by the glitter of stars strewn throughout and inky sky as if the Gods had tipped a jaw of glitter into the air. The heat from the jeep's hood and exhaust came out in tiny silver clouds that made it look like the car was moving on mist.

"I think we should find a place to set down for the night." Hakkai spoke into the quiet, his breath visible.

"A brilliant idea." Menary shifted uncomfortably making Gojyo grunt and move to avoid the jab of her velvet elbow. "I fear I have become a bit cramped. This sort of travel is distinctly tiresome."

"If we drive through the night we'll reach the palace that sooner." Sanzo said stiffly.

"And with the early morning." Menary said with glaring gravity. "When the palace is in full preparation for the day and scouting for intruders. Not only that but we will be exhausted from lack of sleep and that makes for a sloppy rescue. Better to reach the Summer Palace during the afternoon when their attention is turned inwards rather then out." She studied her fingers acquiring a distant air. "But it's your own personal hide, I suppose."

"Sanzo?" Hakkai asked, his question in the single word.

"Do what you want." The monk retorted in an irritant voice.

"Alright Hakuryu." Hakkai's smiling voice spoke as he veered the car towards the ferocious arms of a cactus. "Let's set down for the night."

Hakuryu mewed, flashing white headlines then vibrated to a halt as Hakkai brought the little green jeep to a stop. Menary was the first to dismount, lifting the valise with delicate attention from beneath her seat and setting it down, next to the back tire as she opened the compartment where her bags had been tucked away.

"It's fucking freezing." Gojyo complained from beyond her left shoulder where he lashed out with his heel to tick the lonely little cactus.

"I would be quite happy to share the quilts I brought with you, Master Gojyo." She smiled benignly at his ecstatic expression, allowing him to simmer in his own relief for a moment before adding. "Once you've removed my luggage from the jeep for me."

His face dropped and he chose a glare to replace it, glower even as he shuffled to do her bidding. "Goddamn, women."

"Oh, my." Hakkai chuckled silently, patting Hakuryu's hood fondly. He looked towards Menary, who stood with her fingers perched airily against her chin as she watched the half demon struggle with her burdens. "I think you're getting to him."

She turned her head to offer a warm smile. "It is good for him. Gallantry is a useful trait even if it is forcibly taught."

"I suppose I won't argue."

"I do love an intelligent man." She turned her head to look at Sanzo who stood with his arms crossed staring at her as if he was considering driving all the way back to the town and dumping her back there again. "Would you like some tea, Master Sanzo?"

He gave her a dry look then turned and strode away briskly.

"I suppose not. I do wonder where he plans to stalk off to in the middle of no where."

Hakkai shook his head. "Oh. I'm sure he'll find somewhere." Then left her to help Gojyo when one of the heavier suitcases over toned on his foot, sending him into peals of elaborate and imaginative expletives.

* * *

Sleep was a difficultly clung to thing, surrounding him in a fog not quite strong and dense enough to fully immerse his mind but enough that it wasn't fully fixed on consciousness. Sanzo moved across the sand at a natural pace, his arms bare but not feeling the dry, night wind that beat against them. The camp and the sleeping forms of his companions had shrunk as he walked and now they were no more then a pin prick in the distance.

She stood waiting for him, her form luminescent in the moonlight, encased in an ethereal light that made the shadows retreat to form a ring about the hem of the garment that spilled over her frame to the golden sand. Her dark hair was crowned with gold and she watched him with expectant eyes and an amused smile. She lifted her hand, the faintest movement, and sleep slipped away like water through a sieve, leaving him clear headed and finally functional.

"Merciful Goddess." His voice held the faintest undertone of the crankiness of one awoken abruptly from slumber.

"Genjo Sanzo." She purred in response.

"Why did you summon me?"

"So impatient. Did you dislike your stroll through the moonlight?"

He made a sound of impatience. "It's cold as hell and I don't like the scenery."

"You'll have another to enjoy soon enough." She lifted her arm and swept it out.

The air seemed to thicken and become denser till her nails tore a rift in it, splitting the desert scenery. The image hung suspended in the incision made in open air, a palace of dark ivory sandstone. Curling ramparts arched up towards the sky, the building a masterpiece of sweeping architecture that spiraled over and around itself. The highest tower bore a balcony of black marble, a sun crest emblazoned on a black silk tapestry hung over the railings, shifting with the wind.

"This is the Summer Palace." The Goddess said in her velvet voice. "Your destination. Goku is being held here by the Princess Miyohiko, bound to her throne with ensorcelled chains."

"He's alive?"

"He is. But it would be an easy thing to remove him from her. She keeps him with her at almost every moment of the day."

Sanzo's violet eyes narrowed into a glare. "Then exactly how are we supposed to get him out? I don't suppose you're willing to give us some godly help."

"Sanzo, don't tell me your so close minded. I had thought that you yourself had perceived the help I've already sent you."

"I beg your pardon?"

The goddess' eyes moved pass his shoulder and fixed just behind him. Sanzo turned at the redirect of her attention and spat a low curse. Menary stood, barefoot in the sand. Her hair was unbound; golden waves the tumbled just pass her shoulders. Her eyes, like the moon were wide silver circles that glowed with in fractured light. She wore a white dressing gown that made her look pale and sylph light, a china doll lost in the harsh rampage of the desert. Her attention was fixed on the goddess who smiled with amused benevolence at the foreign woman. And then Menary's eyes snapped to meet his accusing violet ones; they condemned her, for gender, for mortality, for weakness, and the delicacy and breakable fragility she seemed to bear leaked from her form almost tangible to be swallowed by the shifting, hungry sand.

"I thought you were a dream." She spoke to the Goddess familiarly, as if this were not their first meeting and Sanzo's eyes narrowed with suspicion. Menary ignored him. "I was meant to help them get their friend back. I find it disconcerting, this habit the divine have of playing with mortal lives."

"Humans seem to over estimate their importance. You all have a purpose, you serve it. That is all."

Menary's lips twitched as the Englishwoman gathered that composed nonchalance about her. It seemed the shock of the Merciful Goddess' presence faded. "So was the mind set of the Grecian pantheon and the Aztec's Talocan court. Do Gods wisp away when the people who serve them stop following blindly, your divinity-ship? Or is when they fall beneath the rule of those who do not hold to their worship? Do Gods have regions and empires they govern singularly? If so I believe I am out of your jurisdiction."

The Merciful Goddess smirked. "No one is out of my jurisdiction, dear."

Menary met her eye for a moment and then she lowered her lashes in the parody of modest deference and dipped in deliberate curtsy that was awkward in the dressing gown. Sanzo perceived that some kind of struggle had just passed but he wasn't sure how or who won. Women. Mortal and Immortal. Unperceivable.

"And what happens when Miyohiko refuses to hand over her prisoner to us?" Sanzo ignored the exchange that had passed.

The Goddess' seemed to shimmer more fully, and her eyes were incandescent with laughter. "You won't be taking Son Goku from her. She's to go with you when you leave Mah Laou."


End file.
